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A Ham in a Role
A Ham in a Role is a 1949 Looney Tunes short directed by Robert McKimson and starring The Goofy Gophers along with an unnamed dog. The cartoon draws heavily from the works of William Shakespeare, with its gags relying on literal interpretations of lines from Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Richard III, and Romeo and Juliet. Plot An anthropomorphic dog (who also appeared in "The Goofy Gophers" and "Two Gophers from Texas", albeit in slightly different form) is tired of appearing in cartoons and goes home to study the works of Shakespeare. Upon arriving back home, the dog finds that his home has been invaded by gophers. Unfazed, the dog then begins reading Hamlet. Upon discovering the gophers sleeping in the book, he throws the book out the window. The Goofy Gophers then get their revenge on the dog by literally interpreting lines from Shakespeare works, including "lending him ears," tormenting him with flames (to his foot), dousing him with "the joy of life" (by dumping a tub of water on the dog), dumping Limburger cheese as the dog utters the "that which we call a rose" line while holding a rose, imitating the exhumed Yorick in a dance (making the dog appear like a Shakespearean coward), using magnets on the floor and ceiling to toss the dog around the room (in armor), with the coup de grâce coming about when the Gophers use a horse to kick the dog out of his house and back to the studio, where the dog laments that "parting is such sweet sorrow," returning to the studio where he began the cartoon as the song "You Ought to Be in Pictures" plays in the background. As the cartoon ends, the dog says to the audience "To be...or not to be...", only to get splat by the pie in the face (as in the beginning of the cartoon). Iris-out. Availability *DVD - Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6, Disc 1 (Looney Tunes opening and ending restored) Gallery Trivia Notes *This cartoon was originally issued as a Looney Tunes cartoon with the Looney Tunes music. When it was re-issued, the cartoon was re-issued with Merrie Melodies credits, but retained the Looney Tunes music. *Working Title: A Hammy Hamlethttp://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/robert-mckimsons-a-ham-in-a-role/ *This would be the last cartoon in the Golden Age of American Animation (he would be recycled for a single short in the 1990s in the World Premiere Toons series) to star the dog that had opposed the Gophers in their first two appearances. In addition, this is the first Gophers cartoon to be directed by McKimson; it was supposed to be directed by Arthur Davis, but when Warner Bros. Cartoons reduced from four units to three, "A Ham in a Role" was reassigned to McKimson, along with animators J.C. Melendez and Emery Hawkins. References External links * Category:Looney Tunes Category:Looney Tunes shorts Category:The Goofy Gophers Category:Goofy Gophers shorts Category:Directed by Robert McKimson Category:1949 Category:1949 shorts Category:1949 films Category:1940s shorts Category:1940s films Category:1940s Category:Story by Sid Marcus Category:Written by Sid Marcus Category:Animation by Charles McKimson Category:Animated by Charles McKimson Category:Animation by Phil DeLara Category:Animated by Phil DeLara Category:Animation by J.C. Melendez Category:Animated by J.C. Melendez Category:Animation by Emery Hawkins Category:Animated by Emery Hawkins Category:Layouts by Cornett Wood Category:Backgrounds by Richard H. Thomas Category:Voice Characterizations by Mel Blanc Category:Voices by Mel Blanc Category:Voiced by Mel Blanc Category:Voice Characterizations by Stan Freberg Category:Voices by Stan Freberg Category:Voiced by Stan Freberg Category:Music by Carl Stalling Category:Musical Direction by Carl Stalling Category:Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling Category:Cartoons written by Sid Marcus Category:Cartoons directed by Robert McKimson Category:Cartoons animated by Phil DeLara Category:Cartoons animated by J.C. Melendez Category:Cartoons animated by Emery Hawkins Category:Cartoon layouts by Cornett Wood Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Richard H. Thomas Category:Film Editing by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with sound effects by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with voices by Mel Blanc Category:Cartoons with voices by Stan Freberg Category:Cartoons with music by Carl Stalling Category:Warner Bros. Cartoons Category:Warner Bros. Animation Category:Films Category:Shorts Category:Warner Bros. shorts Category:Vitaphone short films